THE SCARLET LETTER

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE

The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter with a man to whom she is not married and then struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Containing a number of religious and historic allusions, the book explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.

Table of contents

• PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
• THE CUSTOM-HOUSE. INTRODUCTORY TO “THE SCARLET LETTER.”
• I. THE PRISON-DOOR.
• II. THE MARKET-PLACE.
• III. THE RECOGNITION.
• IV. THE INTERVIEW.
• V. HESTER AT HER NEEDLE.
• VI. PEARL.
• VII. THE GOVERNOR’S HALL.
• VIII. THE ELF-CHILD AND THE MINISTER.
• IX. THE LEECH.
• X. THE LEECH AND HIS PATIENT.
• XI. THE INTERIOR OF A HEART.
• XII. THE MINISTER’S VIGIL.
• XIII. ANOTHER VIEW OF HESTER.
• XIV. HESTER AND THE PHYSICIAN.
• XV. HESTER AND PEARL.
• XVI. A FOREST WALK.
• XVII. THE PASTOR AND HIS PARISHIONER.
• XVIII. A FLOOD OF SUNSHINE.
• XIX. THE CHILD AT THE BROOK-SIDE.
• XX. THE MINISTER IN A MAZE.
• XXI. THE NEW ENGLAND HOLIDAY.
• XXII. THE PROCESSION.
• XXIII. THE REVELATION OF THE SCARLET LETTER.
• XXIV. CONCLUSION.